Cosmos
by ZAFO
Summary: You've just gotta read the atmosphere, Jack.
1. Temper

**Cosmos**

By ZAFO

**A/N:** Jack and Simon before the island. Drabblefic. Multi-chaptered.

* * *

– **1. ** Temper ** -**

An angelic voice rings through the air; pure and young and therefore not his. The note ends and Simon stops, bowing humbly before the roaring applause. He turns to Jack, in a delicate motion, then precedes to give a subtle, mystique little smile.

Jack attempts to 'smile' in return, when-

"-well done, Simon!" chirps a nameless, female classmate.

She and her friends crowd around him like lions to the lamb.

"Yes!"

"That was splendid!"

"I am _so _jealous!"

"Will you teach me to sing like that?"

But Simon does not stutter, nor turn away, nor politely excuse himself from the commotion as Jack expects. Instead the small boy stands his ground, his eyes placid, and converses candidly with each and every voice that chimes in to talk to him.

_'Pansy probably likes it.' _Jack thinks venomously.

He gives a hard swallow, turning sharply on the edge of his heels. With a refined _swish! _of his black choir cloak Jack takes his leave and tactfully manages to ignore the somber expression Simon wears on his face all the while.

Lonely footsteps echo throughout the hall- magnifying to almost deafening proportions with each step and every he takes. The noise grows faint; the jealousy does not.

He rounds the corner, nearing the exit at last, and bursts from the doors with an anger unparalleled. Startled, Bill drops his cigarette and sputters on spot.

"J-Jack!"

Jack slinks over to his classmate with a deadly feline grace. Bill shrinks back with the undeniable feeling of being cornered.

"Bill..." he sings.

"-Jack! W-wait! I can explain! Oh c'mon, go easy on a chap, will you?" he wails, as Jack lifts him up by the collar of his shirt.

"Where were you today for the performance, _huh? _ _You bloody wanker!"_

Bill panics.

"_St-stop! _I didn't mean to miss it! I-I just wanted to go out and have a smoke a-and I lost track of time and I-"

"_You're twelve!" _ Jack explodes._ "Why the hell do you need to 'go out and have a smoke?'"_

Bill flushes.

"Y-you're just jealous of how cool I am! Because even _Jack Merridew_ doesn't have the guts to smoke!"

Silence.

Jack stares him down, a low, predatory chuckle erupting from the back of his throat.

Bill shivers.

"Is that so? Just because I'm not stupid enough to go kill myself with cancer sticks...?"

"I-"

"-_cool _my arse, you fucking prat." His voice is rising._ "You wanna see 'cool?' I'll show you fucking-"_

"-Jack."

And then he stops, as still as a statue.

Simon smiles airily, as if there really wasn't anything wrong with the scene before him.

"Sorry I got caught up there. You know how those girls are."

Jack's shoulders slump.

"But, I managed to get rid of them."

Bill breaths heavily.

"I'm kind of hungry though. Let's go get something to eat, Jack?"

Jack says nothing for a long, long time.

Finally, the redhead throws Bill's body away, like trash, and slinks over to Simon's tiny, outstretched hand.

Jack doesn't take it, but the boy beams nonetheless.

"Fine." he sulks.

_"Wonderful."_ says Simon, and the two make their way onto the street soon after.

Bill sits on the rough cement, wondering what the hell just happened.

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**A/N: **Please review! :)


	2. Cherry

**Cosmos**

By ZAFO

**A/N: **Okay, to those of you who I've said that this wasn't going to to be a Jack/Simon fic, I'm sorry. I changed my mind as I was writing.

_Refuse to Fall _can be the neutral LotF friendship fic because I cannot do it with this one without getting bored lol.

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–**2.** Cherry**–**

The glass window shines bright sunlight onto their table as if it were a magnifying glass, flickering like a dying light bulb every now and then whenever the shadow of a passing person walks past their view. And even though the archaic ice cream shop has running air conditioning, it's hot, and the boys have long discarded their black choir cloaks in the empty seats across because Jack decides that he must to sit next to Simon.

Simon shifts; bothered by the heat and the tension emanating from Jack's body.

Never the less...

"Here," he says gently, handing Jack a pink plastic spoon. "Will you eat?"

Jack scoffs, turning his head away with shallow disdain.

"No." he says curtly. "It looks like shit."

"...but_ I_ think it looks pretty." Simon counters.

"Well who cares what _you_ think!" Jack huffs.

So Simon stops fighting and sighs, looking down at the fancy banana split melting in the heat of summer.

There are three scoops of ice cream lying artfully inside the shallow glass bowl; vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry— all resting between two peeled bananas and topped with a succulent red cherry with _plenty_ of white whipped cream to go around...

Simon feels sick just looking at it.

So he tries again.

"Jack." he says quietly. "You know I can't finish this all by myself..."

Without warning, however, Jack snatches the pink plastic spoon out of Simon's hands and digs it deep into the mound of chocolate, an offended frown etched onto his face all the while.

_"You are going to finish it because I paid for it." _he says menacingly, making a violent stabbing motion up to Simon's mouth._  
_

Something isn't quite right with this argument, but Simon doesn't want to fight it anymore.

"Okay." he sighs resignedly. "I'll eat it..."

"Good." says Jack, relaxing at last. "You do that."

So a few minutes pass between them as they sit in an awkward silence, save for the quiet chattering of the other customers and the loud _tick-tock_ from the clock above them.

Simon stops chewing and swallows, however, unable to ignore the fearsome gaze upon his person any longer.

"Jack?" he asks hesitantly.

"...what?"

"Would you stop staring at me like that?"

And then Jack's freckles mingle into the spreading blush across the whole of his face, blending into the red of his hair altogether.

"I am _not _staring at you!" he snaps indignantly.

"Yes you were!"

_"I was not!"_

"Now you're lying..."

At this, Jack's face twists into an ugly preparation to make some kind of angry retort —most likely something very blunt and mean-spirited— when a young and boyish voice calls to them from outside:

_"Jack! Simon!"_ shouts Maurice, pressing his nose up against the rapidly fogging glass window._ "Hey there!"_

Jack deflates momentarily. Simon brightens up.

"Maurice!" he calls cheerily. "It's you!"

The choirboy grins cheekily, his voice muffled by the inch-thick panel of glass between them.

_"Sure is! Mind if I join you guys?"_

Simon shakes his head.

"Of course not!" he chirps, oblivious to the wild '_NO, STOP!'_ gestures of Jack behind him.

Almost immediately, the bells tied onto the front entrance give a quiet tinkle as Maurice rushes into the shop, stopping only once he reaches their table.

Jack simply slides his hands down his face in a slow, agonizing manner.

"That looks good!" Maurice babbles, eager to mooch off his classmates. "Can I get a bite?"

Simon smiles.

"Sure." he says easily, while Jack looks on in indignation.

_"No you cannot—"_

_"—yum!"_ exclaims Maurice, licking his lips once Simon pops the spoon back out. "That sure is good!"

Jack blinks.

When did Simon even _pick up_ the spoon...?

"You think so?"

"I know so!" he giggles. "I've already tasted it!"

"Jack bought it for me." Simon says casually, his eyes sparkling when Maurice opens his mouth wide for another bite.

But Jack slams his fist down onto the table, rattling them both.

_"Yeah."_ he growls threateningly. "_Jack_ bought it. For_ Simon._"

He makes sure to put extra emphasis on the last part, but never the less his point does not get across to Maurice very well.

"Why are you talking in third person?" Maurice asks. "Well then, can _Jack _ buy one for _Maurice_ too?"

"And why the fuck should I do that?" he snaps, his voice rising.

"You shouldn't." Simon agrees.

"That's right." Jack says haughtily.

"...because we can just share." he finishes serenely, while Maurice whoops loudly in jubilee.

_"What?"_

Maurice pushes his way between the table and the seat, crossing over Simon's lap before wedging himself securely between his two companions.

_"What are doing?"_ yells Jack , horrified. _ "Get the hell out of here!"_

But Simon has already handed him the spoon —the spoon originally meant for Jack— and Maurice grins stupidly before taking it and digging into the rest of their bowl.

_"You're eating the** fucking** whole thing you **fucking** pig!" _

He is about to yell more obscenities when the teenage waitress stops and stares, giving them a hard, disapproving look with her pretty blue eyes.

So Jack shuts up, but not for long.

"Sorry." says Maurice, not sounding sorry at all. "My bad. Here Simon, have the cherry."

The choirboy plucks off the last bit of fruit off and raises it up to Simon's lips.

"Eat up!" he chirps.

_"My ass!" _Jack shouts._  
_

And then it's gone, Maurice and Simon both blinking confusedly at his empty pinched fingers.

Jack sits with his arms crossed, a little distance away from. His expression is irrationally furious as he chews crudely, spiting out the stem of the cherry when he finishes before turning around to glare at them unrelentingly.

"Well, what do you know!" Maurice whistles in wonder. "Jack can tie a cherry stem with his tongue!"

Jack rolls his eyes as Simon cocks his head to one side.

_"So?"_

"So what does that mean?"

"It means he's a good kisser!" Maurice smiles slyly, bursting into laughter once Jack's tough guy act falls to pieces.

But what could Jack do when Simon was around...?

_'Nothing,' _Maurice thinks smugly, continuing to snicker. _'Nothing_ _at all!'_**_  
_**

**_"...GET OUT OF HERE!" _**he screeches. **_  
_**

"Aww, look! He's getting shy! So who have you been kissing, huh Jack? Huh?"

**_"GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!"_**

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**A/N: **Lawlz. I'm sorry that this was kind of shitty and halfheartedly written and not funny at all OTL but I seem to have a hard time writing these days. Never the less, I hope you enjoyed it, and remember the click the review button below! :)


	3. Chocolate

**Cosmos**

By ZAFO

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–**3.** Chocolate–

Simon wakes with a start when something smashes into his bedroom window causes a number of cracks to ricochet across the artisan glass; creating a massive spider web that blocks his view into the rest of the world.

The boy hesitates for but a moment, however— staring sorely at the small grey stone rolling to a stop onto his cream-colored carpet— before gingerly stepping out of bed to go open said window, peering out into the pitch-black darkness apprehensively.

The cricket's chirps are loud, but—

"—_pssst! _Simon! Down here!"

Jack Merridew's whispers are even louder.

"Hello, Jack." he greets amicably.

"...don't 'hello' me, you little brat. " Jack growls. "Just hurry up and invite me in already, it's freaking cold out here!"

"Well you were going to invite yourself in anyway, weren't you...?"

"Shut up," he replies, before trying his hand at climbing the old apple tree by the younger boy's window.

After a few minutes of silence Simon hears only a snap, and then a yelp, and then a thud— and with that he knows that his red-headed friend has failed in his conquest.

"_Damn it all!"_

Jack picks himself with a sluggish sort of anger and starts rubbing his elbow—now bleeding—muttering darkly under his breath all the while.

It is harder than he had initially thought.

Though the tree trunk itself is textured; easy to scale, it's limbs are far too thin to support his full weight and even now, on the ground, Jack is afraid that the frail branches will somehow drop an apple down onto his head...

"...would your parents mind if I just walk through the front door?"

"It's 3 am." Simon says bluntly. "And they don't like you."

"Then whatever!" Jack seethes. "I don't like them either!"

"Sorry..."

"_Don't apologize!"_

Jack's hands clench irritably into menacing fists.

Simon sighs.

It is easy to tell that the boy is getting discouraged from falling all the time...and deep down, Simon is afraid that Jack Merridew will soon stop trying altogether.

_'What to do...'_

In all honestly, Simon _does _hold a little grudge against the older choir boy for ruining his window (he has no idea how he is going to explain _that _to his parents come morning...) but, never the less, Jack is his best friend and he is willing to overlook the little things for the sake of his happiness.

Then it hits him.

"If you can manage to climb into my room this time and not get caught," says Simon. "I'll give you some of the Swiss chocolate the older girls gave me at school today."

Jack immediately snaps to attention.

"...what? What older girls? Don't tell me that _Anna_ bitch and her group of pedophiles is harassing you again!"

_'Actually, **you** harass me more than anyone I know...' _Simon thinks wryly. _  
_

"Jack...' he starts.

"NO! Is it really from her? I'm not gonna eat that shit! She's probably laced it with sleeping drugs or...or..." Jack lowers his voice into a fierce whisper, blushing profusely. "...some kind of...aphrodisiac."

His companion leans his delicate frame out of the window, unable to hear.

"What was that?"

"Nothing..." Jack mumbles, shuffling his feet.

"But! I want to know!"

"I said it was nothing!"

_"Tell me!"_

"AN APHRODISIAC!" he yells. "OKAY? YOU HEAR ME NOW? JUST DON'T EAT IT!"

But Simon is only startled for a total of .002 seconds before a slow, cheeky grin overcomes his delicate features.

Jack, down below, sees the expression clearly with the light from Simon's room illuminating his face so he knows— he knows that the little whelp is about to do something very, very annoying...

"Try and stop me, then." he says simply, before disappearing from Jack Merridew's immediate line of vision.

"H-HEY! Where the hell are you going?"

Silence.

Jack then hears the faint sound of candy wrappers crinkling from afar.

"_DAMN YOU!"_

Savagely, Jack leaps at the apple tree with an animalistic urgency. Fear and hesitation have completely dissipated into nil now as he tears through the fragrant branches (breaking quite a few in the process—oh, Simon was going to have _so_ much fun explaining that to his parents as well) reaching the windowsill in record time.

_'Uh-oh...'_

Now he is swaying...

The last branch is about to break and he knows it.

So, he jumps.

"ACK!"

Then, very narrowly, by sheer, dumb luck: Jack Merridew manages to catch the ledge with his hand and struggles to pull himself up.

_'Thank God for having Bill around to beat up on all the time.' _he thinks.

Because it wasn't too pleasant imagining how that jump would have ended if his biceps weren't as strong as they were...or, at least as strong as a elementary school boy's could get.

However,

His efforts are still not enough.

His muscles are straining

His veins are practically popping out of his skin.

_'Oh, fuck..'_

One finger slips, then two, then three...

Now the other hand—

"—need some help there?" asks Simon, popping into view once more.

How irritatingly random.

"Do you want to me to break something?" Jack growls, slipping further.

_'Mainly, **you **when I finally get in...?'_

Simon smiles serenely.

"Relax."

He claps his tiny hands over Jack's own.

It takes a lot of extra effort for the skinny adolescent to drag his friend through the open window, and Jack isn't ungrateful. He silently appreciates the genuine exertion Simon shows until he realizes he is about to fall head-first onto the bedroom floor.

_'I am going to kill that kid.'_

"OW!"

A cringe-worthy _thud! _echoes painfully throughout the tiny bedroom as Jack crashes comically onto the cropped fuzz.

There was no denying that that must have hurt...

Even Simon, with his endless experience with_ 'Jack __tantrums,' _is afraid to gauge the other boy's anger as he lies dangerously still on the thin cream-colored carpet.

"Jack...?"

"Just. Don't." his voice is muffled. "Don't touch me."

"Does it hurt?"

"Yes."

Simon is quiet.

Then...

"Would you like some chocolate to feel better, then?"

_"...I hate you."_

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**A/N: **dying omg


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